


Haven

by Paendeo



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: 5+1 Things, Canon-Typical Violence, Gangs, I'm Bad At Tagging, M/M, Mentions of Injuries, Mentions of Violence, Mild Blood, Minor Violence, Seo Changbin is Bad at Feelings, Swearing, chanlix brothers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-18
Updated: 2021-02-27
Packaged: 2021-03-13 23:22:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,010
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29534004
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Paendeo/pseuds/Paendeo
Summary: Five times Felix mends Changbin's wounds and one time Changbin returns the favour.
Relationships: Lee Felix/Seo Changbin
Comments: 4
Kudos: 25





	1. The First Time

**Author's Note:**

> I'm the worst at tagging and summaries, so if I've missed anything you think I should add, please feel free to comment =) 
> 
> It's also not beta'd but hopefully I haven't missed any grammar or spelling mistakes ><

September 3 

Felix was adamant that he wanted nothing to do with the life his brother had chosen to live, yet he would never turn him away when he needed him - at least, that was what Changbin had been told. He had never met Felix, personally - the only reference he had was the photo on his boss’s desk of the baby faced boy with big, innocent eyes and freckles splattered across pale skin. 

Tonight though, Chan, bleeding out, leaning most of his weight on Changbin, had muttered an address and demanded - as best a near corpse could do - he take him there. 

When Changbin lowered Chan into the car in a way that was far more gentle than anything he had ever done, Seungmin didn't ask them the usual cheery "where to, boss?". Instead he waited for Changbin to get in and started driving before he had even finished telling him the address. 

Chan had passed out on the journey and Seungmin had to help Changbin pull him out of the car and up the apartment building, into the elevator, all the way to the 3rd door on the 4th floor. A boy answered the door with sleep in his eyes that disappeared within a second of seeing Chan. He looked even younger in person. Changbin shook the thought from his head as the boy ushered them inside and directed them to lay Chan on the couch. He started moving in and out of the room with quick, steady steps. The boy didn't seem to mind the blood his brother was getting all over his furniture - Changbin looked to his own hands and subtly wiped his Boss’s blood on his pants, crossing his arms and finding a spot to lean against the wall. 

The boy looked up at one point, making eye contact with him as he opened his mouth to say something - before he uttered a sound, he sighed, turning to Seungmin instead. 

“Could you give me a hand?” he asked in the same accent as his brother’s, but with a deep, unexpected richness. Seungmin rushed to help, and the boy gave him a soft, eye-crinkling smile of thanks. 

“Is he going to be okay?” Seungmin asked quietly. 

“He will. He’s fought back from worse than this.” The boy muttered back. 

Changbin’s fists tightened. He hoped he was right. 

**********

It was an hour or so before the boy had deemed Chan to be patched up enough. The night was starting to catch up to Changbin. His back and legs had started to ache, but he made sure he kept his face blank. 

"Right." Felix said, getting up and stretching his arms. "You next." 

Changbin started. He was talking to _him?_

"I'm good, thanks." He said, voice gruff. 

He wasn't, in fact, 'good'. His cheek was caked in dried blood from a bruising cut under his eye, his forearm was leaking red haphazardly behind the makeshift bandage he had fashioned out of his jacket, and he was pretty sure he had at least one cracked rib - but Changbin wasn’t about to let a stranger touch him, no matter who he was related to. 

"It wasn't a question." The boy pointed to the table in the adjacent dining room. "Move. Now." 

Changbin's eyes widened. If he wasn't fully aware that his boss would break multiple bones in his body if he acted on his current feelings, he would have punched the kid so hard his nose would invert. Seungmin let out a bark of laughter that he tried to disguise as a cough, under Changbin's glare. 

The boy let out a huff, walking forward and grabbing Changbin by the wrist - the good one. Changbin was so shocked that he found himself seated on a chair, his jacket-bandage being unwrapped, before he could even begin to do anything about it. He pulled his hand away and was met with a fierce glare, which he returned tenfold. This should have sent the kid running for the hills, or cowering under the table - he had most certainly produced the same effects on stronger men - but the boy simply raised an eyebrow. 

"I'm trying to help you." He said, in a tone that suggested he was speaking to a particularly frustrating and disobedient child. 

"I don't need your help." Changbin growled back. 

It was no use. The boy possessed a stubbornness that he had seen mirrored in his older brother, and moments later, Changbin could only morbidly watch as the boy gently wiped at his arm. 

"It's not too deep, so it doesn't need stitches." Felix muttered, almost to himself. 

Secretly, Changbin was glad. He disliked needles. To be clear, he wasn't scared of them, he just hated them with a burning passion. 

When the kid picked up a clean wipe and moved to his face, Changbin panicked. His uninjured hand wrapped around the boy's wrist, tight. 

To the boy's credit, he barely flinched at the bruising grip, but Changbin saw the flash of fear in his eyes. It made him feel oddly guilty, and he consciously lightened his grip. 

"It won't sting any more than your arm did." Felix said quietly, his voice almost steady. 

"Where's your bathroom? I'll clean it myself." Up close, Changbin could see the exhaustion settling around the boy’s eyes, and count the freckles on the boy's face - a constellation of stars spread across smooth skin. He could see the annoyed downturn of his mouth and the judgemental narrowing of his eyes and the moody wrinkle of his nose. He could almost read the process of thoughts in his mind - the consideration of being stubborn just for the sake of pettiness, the determination - because this was his area of expertise, not some tough thug's -, and finally, the resolution. 

"Down the hall, first on the left." He muttered. 

When Changbin returned, it became a waiting game. He set himself up in a flower patterned armchair, facing his unconscious boss. 

Seungmin and Felix made small talk for a while, and Changbin unintentionally learnt that Felix was actually the same age as Seungmin - 25, only a year younger than Changbin, unbelievably - and that he had seen Chan just last week, when they met for dinner. He learnt that Felix was fresh out of med school, but hadn’t found a job in the field yet, still working at the convenience store just down the road until he did. He found out that him and Seungmin also had the same favourite pizza toppings, ice cream flavours and video games, and soon enough, they had exchanged phone numbers. 

Seungmin left in the early hours of the morning, after the conversation had died down, telling Changbin to call him when he needed him. Felix flitted in and out of the room, checking on his brother, ignoring Changbin's presence, until the sun began to rise, breaking through the windows with natural light. 

"I'm going to get some sleep." Felix said, acknowledging his presence for the first time in hours. "Wake me up if he so much as moves." 

Changbin wanted to bite back, snap that he didn't take orders from kids, but the boy was already walking down the hall. 

The kid didn’t acknowledge his presence again. Chan woke up mid-morning, and grunted out an order to call Han, wait for him to come and then go home, and that was that. 


	2. Chapter Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much to those who have left Kudos! I'm new to uploading so it feels so good to see that it's not as bad as I make it out to be in my head haha. 
> 
> I'm not totally happy with this chapter, so i'll probably be uploading the next one tonight as well just because I like that one more XD

2nd Time - October 27

If there was anything Changbin hated more, it was dirty men who played even dirtier. Sending seven men to attack one person was just a shit thing to do, even in their line of work.

He should have known something would happen. News that Chan had taken his boyfriend on a luxury getaway for his birthday had spread like wildfire. Which meant idiot thugs thought it was the perfect time to target them. It was unfortunate for them that Miroh was a well oiled machine, and their boss being away for a few days wouldn’t send them into unorganised chaos. He supposed it was also unfortunate that the idiots were all dead now, too.

Unfortunately the bastards still managed to nick him in the side with a _very_ sharp knife. 

‘I need you to come get me.’ Changbin growled into the phone. 

‘Uhhh…I’m kinda busy?’ Han replied. 

Changbin took a breath as deep as he could manage. 

‘Unless you’re getting attacked, get your damn ass to my location now.’

‘But -’ 

‘HAN! Do you want to tell the boss you let his right hand man bleed out in a gutter? Because that’s what you’ll be telling him if you don’t _move your ass_!’ 

Han paused for a second before replying. 

‘On my way.’ 

* * * * * * * * 

Han jumped out of an unfamiliar car while it was still rolling to a stop. If Changbin wasn’t trying to keep his insides _inside_ his body, he may have questioned it. 

A second figure got out, and this, Changbin did question. 

‘What the hell is _Felix_ doing here?’ He growled at Han. 

‘I told you I was busy!’ Han replied. 

The second boy handed the keys to Han, pulling Changbin’s arm around his shoulders to help him to the car. 

‘I can walk.’ He grumbled, but Felix ignored him. 

He gently pushed him into a seat in the back, racing around to the other side. 

‘Take me to HQ’ Changbin said when Han settled behind the driver’s seat.

‘My place is closer.’ Felix said. 

Han hesitated. 

‘HQ.’ He countered. He was starting to feel light-headed. 

Felix pulled Changbin’s hand away from his side, replacing it with his own. 

‘Go to mine, Hannie.’ _Hannie?_

‘Got it’ Han said, almost too quiet to hear. 

Changbin looked up, glaring. Han caught the look in the rearview mirror. 

‘It’s his car.’ He muttered sheepishly. 

Changbin huffed. He glared at the boy next to him, almost taken back by how close he was to him.

His mind had started to get fuzzy around the edges and his eyes began to roll back into his head. The last thing he felt was his cheek landing on something solid and warm. 

* * * * * * * *

He became conscious suddenly, with waves of hot pain throbbing in his side, but he kept his eyes closed. He was lying on a soft, comfortable surface. Someone was holding his hand, wiping something damp over it. It was so soothing in contrast to the sharp stabbing of his side, that Changbin almost found himself dozing off again. 

‘I know you’re awake.’ A deep voice said quietly. 

Changbin opened his eyes. Felix sat next to him, wiping dried blood from his fingers. He was lying on a bed in an unfamiliar room. He used his other arm to try and push himself up, his breath coming out sharp at the pang in his side. Felix stopped wiping and put a hand on his chest, pushing him back down. 

‘Be careful.’ He said, voice soft. ‘You should probably try to lie still for a bit.’ 

Changbin couldn’t discern the expression on Felix’s face - it almost looked like morbid curiosity. 

‘Where’s Han?’ He asked, his voice raspy. 

‘I sent him home.’ Felix replied. 

‘Why?’ 

‘Because he was tired. It’s 3 in the morning and you shouldn’t be moving around anyway. He doesn’t need to be here.’ 

Felix had started wiping is hand again. He pulled it out of his grip. 

‘I can do it myself.’ He muttered. 

Felix sighed. 

‘I’m not saying you can’t, that doesn’t mean I can’t help.’ 

‘I’m fine.’

‘Fine.’ Felix snapped, almost throwing the cloth down and getting up. He stopped at the door. 

‘You’re welcome, by the way. _Again_.’ He said, voice dripping in sarcasm. 

* * * * * * * * 

For as long as he could remember, Changbin had been plagued with nightmares. Most of the time, it was what one would assume he would be subjected to, from his life experience - drowning in blood, watching his loved ones being tortured while he could do nothing about it, seeing all of his old victims over and over again on a seemingly endless loop. But every so often, he dreamed of peace. He usually smiled in these dreams, feeling warmth filling him up from the inside out. They may not have seemed like nightmares, but these were the ones he hated the most. Because he would always wake up, and he would always be cold again. 

He had somehow found himself dosing back to sleep after Felix had walked out, even despite the foreign feeling of guilt weighing heavily in his gut. But his nightmares still woke him, jarring him from sleep in a way that tugged on his side uncomfortably. 

He sat up gingerly, and poked at his side - the bandage was dry, at least. He stumbled out into a hallway and found himself grateful that Felix lived in a small apartment, so he could find his bearings quickly. Daylight was filtering through his kitchen window, and he wondered how long he had been asleep for.

‘You’re awake.’ Changbin jumped. 

Felix was in the small lounge area, staring at him wearily. He sat in a worn armchair with a volume of manga in his hands. 

‘Mm.’

‘Hannie said he was coming back in an hour or so. You should rest until then.’ Felix said, looking back at the manga. 

Changbin looked at the boy for a moment, and the uncomfortable guilty feeling came back to him. He clenched his teeth. He wasn’t quite used to what he was about to do. 

‘Thanks.’ He muttered. 

He kept his gaze on the kitchen, the ceiling, his shoes - anywhere but Felix. 

‘For what?’ Felix asked after a moment, and Changbin wondered whether he was doing it intentionally, making Changbin spell it out to him. 

He sighed. 

‘For helping me.’ He was so quiet that he wasn’t sure he had even heard him. 

‘You’re welcome.’ Felix replied. 

Changbin looked at him and his heart beat faster. Felix had the smallest of smiles on his face, enough to make the room just a little bit brighter. He kept his gaze on his manga as he spoke again. 

'Getting help doesn’t make you weak, by the way.' 

* * * * * * * * 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CC: http://curiouscat.qa/PaendeoPD  
> TWT: https://twitter.com/PaendeoPD


	3. Chapter Three

3rd time - December 24 

The tinsel was getting tangled in the tree and Changbin was about ready to rip it to pieces and throw it all out the window. This was not in his job description. He told as much to Chan, who simply laughed at him. Why his boss was throwing a stupid Christmas party, he had no idea, but he was already over it. Han and Hyunjin had been bickering for an hour, Seungmin and Jeongin kept playing around, and Minho and Chan were being disgustingly in love, conveniently finding themselves under the stupid mistletoe every five minutes. And he hated tinsel!

‘Is Lix bringing cookies?’ Seungmin asked their boss in one of the four minute long breaks Chan took between kissing his boyfriend. 

_Lix_? Changbin turned his head subtly in the direction of the conversation. 

‘Yeah I think so.’ Chan answered. ‘Or maybe brownies. Or both, if we’re lucky.’ 

‘Your brother is coming?’ Changbin asked, hoping his voice was casual. 

Chan raised an eyebrow at the question. 

‘Yeah.’ He replied. 

‘Oh. Cool.’ He muttered, turning back to the stupid tinsel and ignoring the increase of his heartbeat. 

It was not, in fact, cool. 

'Having help doesn’t make you weak, by the way.' 

Those words had been stuck in his brain on an endless loop since Felix had said them. Weakness was against his very nature. The idea of letting someone _help_ him made him want to shrivel up and die.

Thoughts of the boy had kept invading at the most inconvenient times in the past two months. Like when he was interrogating someone. Or when Chan was asking for his opinion. Or when he was...shopping for groceries. 

Distantly, he heard the front door open as he huffed, throwing the tinsel onto the ground. 

‘That’s it. I’m done. Someone else can deal with this sparkly bullshit.’ He growled. 

They all laughed at him, not even caring about the fierce glaring he was sending their way. They had gotten way too complacent with him. 

‘Imagine if your rivals found out that they could take you down with just a bit of tinsel.’ Changbin turned in the direction of the deep, laughing voice, and his heart stuttered. 

Felix stood in the entrance of the living room, still bundled up in his winter coat, with a large plastic container in his arms. His blonde hair poked out messily from under a dark beanie, and his nose was endearingly pink from the cold. He was _smiling_ , eyes gleaming with mirth. Sure, Changbin had seen that smile before, in photos on Chan’s desk, but seeing it in person - it was as if someone had flicked a switch and turned the season back into summer. All he could do was stare, the warmth of his expression burning him from the inside out. 

Fortunately, Felix’s attention was taken away from Changbin, and he watched the boy hug the others in the room one by one. He seemed to know all of them, and in the back of his mind Changbin wondered when that had even happened. Felix gave the biggest hug to his brother, not letting go for several moments, and Changbin used that time to compose himself before someone noticed his borderline-creepy staring. 

Felix pulled himself away from Chan and it was at that moment that a thought seemed to hit both of them simultaneously. 

Changbin was the only one who he hadn’t hugged. 

They made eye contact, eyes mirroring each other as they grew wide. For a moment, Felix looked as if he was about to go through with it, lifting his arm awkwardly in Changbin’s direction. 

Changbin coughed, bending down too fast to pick up the tinsel again. He quickly turned away from the boy before he could come any closer. 

He told himself that the feeling in his stomach wasn’t regret. 

* * * * * * * * 

They sat around the table as Minho and Jeongin brought in the food. The alcohol had started flowing, and even Hyunjin and Jisung started to be friendly with each other.

Changbin offered to carve the meat. He wasn’t drinking heavily, but still, he found himself letting his guard down at the happiness and warmth radiating from everyone around the table. 

Maybe that was how he managed to slip. He hadn’t realised the knife was in the direct line of his finger until it was too late. He hissed, feeling his skin slicing before the sting had a chance to catch up to it. Immediately blood welled and spilled over his hand. 

‘Yah, hyung, you’re off duty’ Jisung laughed. ‘Save the injuries for when you’re working.’

‘Shut up,’ he muttered, pushing away from the table. 

He found a tea towel in the kitchen and decided he didn’t care about ruining it as he wrapped it around his finger. Chan could just take it out of his pay or something. 

‘Are you going to bite my head off if I offer to look at it?’ He turned to see Felix leaning against the counter. 

He had a glow to his cheeks - likely the couple of drinks he had consumed - and his expression was possibly the friendliest he had ever seen directed at him. Changbin felt himself melt just a little. 

‘Go on then.’ He muttered, holding his hand out. 

Felix stared at it for a moment without saying anything. 

‘Really? That’s it? You’re just…going to let me?’ 

Changbin stared at him hard. Felix took a hesitant step forward, slowly reaching for his hand. 

‘You’re not going to stab me if I touch you?’ Felix’s mouth quirked. 

‘I’ve changed my mind.’ Changbin grumbled, pulling his hand back. 

‘No, wait!’ Felix laughed and moved closer, grabbing his arm. ‘I’ll stop, promise.’

_His laugh is nice_ , Changbin thought, and immediately tensed. Where did that come from? 

Felix’s hand was soft and warm on his arm as he took the towel off. 

‘It doesn’t look too deep. I should be able to patch it up without stitches.’ He said. ‘Come on. Hyung has a first aid kit in his bathroom.’ 

Felix held onto his wrist as he dragged him through the kitchen, out to the hall and up the stairs, burning an imprint into his skin. He directed Changbin to the edge of the extravagant bathtub taking up most of the room. The room was quiet, but Changbin didn’t find it awkward. In fact, he found himself getting lost in the motions of Felix’s hands wiping away at his wound. His muscles melted and he realised with a jolt that he was relaxed. It wasn’t until he felt his body uncoil that he could feel just how long he had been tense. When was the last time he had been calm like this? 

Somewhere in the back of his mind, his thoughts warred between staying and running away.

* * * * * * * * 

The noise of the group washed over them the second they made their way through the kitchen. Changbin could see through the doorway that the rest of them had most definitely kept drinking in their absence, for they all had a flush to their skin and a slur to their words. 

‘STOP!’ Jeongin yelled. 

He and Felix both froze, startled. Jeongin’s face split into a grin that Changbin decided looked almost evil, his eyes gleaming. 

Han laughed, abruptly, before high fiving Jeongin. The others followed, one by one. 

‘Am I missing something?’ Felix muttered to him, voicing the words Changbin had been thinking.

Changbin glanced at the boy, shrugging. 

‘If you are, I’m missing it as well.’ He went to take a step, and the room erupted in yells. 

‘STOP!’

‘NO!’

‘DON’T MOVE!’ 

‘WHY?’ Changbin yelled back. 

Jeongin snickered, pointing to something above their heads. 

Changbin’s eyes widened as dread washed over him. He didn’t want to look up, but his head moved automatically. His heart stopped. 

Above them, hanging innocent, as if it wasn’t some sort of devil flower, was the mistletoe. 

How did Changbin forget about it, after Minho and Chan kept finding themselves there so much throughout the night?

‘Kiss!’ Hyunjin yelled, his voice ending in a hiccup. 

‘Kiss!’ Seungmin added. 

‘Do it!’ Minho shouted. 

Changbin looked at Felix out of the corner of his eye. He was biting his lip, eyes fluttering between Changbin and the group. 

It seemed they had taken too long, because the boys started chanting. 

‘KISS! KISS! KISS! KISS!’ 

He almost wished he hadn’t left his gun in his coat pocket, so he could shoot them all in the toes. They could all afford to lose a little toe, surely. 

He looked at Chan. Chan would save him from this. He would kill Changbin if he touched his little brother. 

His mouth dropped. 

Chan was slamming his hand on the table repeatedly to the chant, his voice increasing in volume. 

‘KISS! KISS! KISS! KISS!’ 

He sighed, turning to Felix. 

He swallowed hard. 

They stood so close that he could count each of his long, lush eyelashes and see the subtle flashes of emotion in his eyes. He saw the gulp of his adam’s apple and felt the soft, shaky breath on his face. He had the sudden urge to run his fingers across his cheeks, caressing the freckles splattered across the pale skin. 

The chanting faded into the background and he got lost in everything that was Felix until he felt short of breath, the edges around his face blurring so that he was the only thing in focus. 

He stared too long. Felix’s eyes shifted, and started to harden. Felix looked away, turned away, and Changbin panicked. He brought his hands up to Felix’s neck, anything to stop him from walking away, and pressed his lips to the softness of his cheek, more gentle than anything he had ever done in his life. As he pulled away, pinkness painted his cheeks, sending a stutter through Changbin’s heart. 

He looked away, and caught the eye of Chan, who was staring at him, eyes hard. 

Changbin decided it was a good time to go home. 

* * * * * * * * 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CC: http://curiouscat.qa/PaendeoPD  
> TWT: https://twitter.com/PaendeoPD

**Author's Note:**

> TWT: twitter.com/paendeoPD (account is new as of 18/02/21 so don't be alarmed at the lack of followers)


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